F0RGING A NEW INDEPENDENT FILM & EFFFECTS STUDIO...

ECHO is being Produced and Directed by myself, Paul J. McConnochie. I am a Scottiish filmmaker, based in Denmark, where for the past four months, I have been building Film and Visual Effects Studios on a converted farm...

• In September 2003, I started my production company, Vortex42.
• My goal has always been to eventually build dedicated Film & Effects Studios.
• Building on my skills & resources, for close to a decade, that goal is becoming reality.
• On 2nd January, 2013, I began converting a farm in Denmark, into vortex42studios.
• These studios contain all facilities required to create great films for many years to come.
• As the Studios near completion, I decided to create ECHO to mark the occasion.

A FILM TO MARK THE MOMENT...

On the morning of 31st March, 2013 (easter sunday), I awoke with a little burst of inspiration. Throughout that single day, I wrote, developed, shot and edited ECHO to a rough cut... That was a very busy day - And a very fulfilling one - Very much thanks to the smalll, dedicated cast and crew who helped me.

• ECHO is now at a locked cut, ready for Scoring, Foley and Creature Effects.
• However, funds for its completion had to be pushed into the final stages of the Studio build.
• So, I don't have the funds available, to let me focus entirely on completing ECHO.
• I'd aimed to submit ECHO to the Deep Fried Film Festival, Scotland (Deadline : May 24th).
• So, to help make the Festival deadline, I've decided to ask you for Contributions.
• We need your help to raise a Completion Fund of £2000 as quickly as possible!
• This will pay for Materials, Foley, Creature Effects & a Score by Composer, Brett McCoy!

This film means a great deal to myself, and the small cast/crew who made it possible. We want to be certain it gets exactly the treatment it deserves in Post-Production. Everything from the Sound & Score to the Creature Effects, have to be just right. On a personal note, I especially want to ensure the stop motion creature effects, are second to none. I want this film to show a credible practical alternative to the usual "CG" approach seen in fantasy films today.

The funds I had set aside to achieve this, for the film, have had to be spent on the final stages of building vortex42studios. So, I must come to you to seek contributions towards a Completion Fund. The upper level we require is around £2000. However, this is a flexible campaign, and whatever amount we can achieve in the relatively short campaign period of twelve days, will be of enormous benefit to the Production. As well as contributing yourself, it is our hope that you will encourage your friends and family to do the same.

WHAT WE NEED THE COMPLETION FUND FOR...

This is a very short term campaign. We are only running it for 12 Days. This is mainly because we would like to complete the film, if at all possible, in time for an upcoming Festival deadline on 24th May. To this end, we would ask if you could do everything you can to help the project, including shouting about it from the rooftops. The completion fund itself, will facilitate the following...

• Creature : Time to focus on animating & compositing ECHO's Creature, without distractions.
• Score : To pay Brett McCoy for the wonderful Musical Score he has agreed to create.
• Materials : Many items, inc. Clay, Alginate, Armatures, Foam Latex Kits, Paints and more.
• Foley : Some sound studio gear for quality foley recording, inc. Effects & EQ Units.
• Festivals : I require Submission Funds for various festivals.
• Perks : Some of the perks available to contributors have material and postage costs.

If you lend us your support, by contributing to ECHO's Completion Fund, then you have access to some really great Perks... First and foremost of these, is The Warm Fuzzies!

The Warm Fuzzies is that internal glow of positivity you feel when you help someone in a meaningful way. Every contribution level for the ECHO campaign, will release a dose of Warm Fuzzies Experience Points, fuelled by our gratitude for your support! And, the great thing about The Warm Fuzzies (and all of our perks), is that they STACK...

For example : If you opt to contribute at the £50 tier, you will accumulate of all The Warm Fuzzies from the £5, £12, £25 & £50 tiers ALL AT ONCE! The higher your contribution, the more warm and fuzzy you will feel, knowing you have done something helpful for someone else, in a truly meaningful way!

And, of course, as well as accumulating warm and fuzzy feelings, you will also accumulate PERKS! All the perks on this campaign are accumulative; They STACK! So, the higher your contribution, the more great stuff you unlock!

All perks are available internationally! All downloadables are Digital-Rights-Management-Free (DRM-FREE), so you have freedom to make backup copies. Where appropriate, Postage and Packaging costs are included in the contribution. And, the physical perks will each be provided with a signed letter confirming authenticity.

SO, LET'S SEE WHAT IS ON OFFER...

I've tried to make the perks as easy to understand as possible. If you do have any queries about them, please do not hesitate to ask in the Comments section. Now, let's take a look...

***UPDATE***

As well as feeling warm and fuzzy inside, everyone who contributes £5 or more, will be sent a real-life, totally unique, warmFuzzy finger-puppet, hand-crafted for vortex42studios by Ceri "Woolly Monster" Watling! So, get your contributions in!

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The Post Production Crew for ECHO is currently myself (Paul J. McConnochie - creating the Creature Effects, and Compositing them into the live action film), and Brett McCoy, who will be composing the Score. If the campaign makes enough money, I will be able to bring in one or two other people, such as a Foley expert. If the campaign does not make enough money for that, it's no problem, as between Brett and myself, there is plenty of sound engineering experience, and we can put together a really good 5.1 Surround Foley track ourselves.

Brett and I have known each other for several years, and worked together on another project. We share a love of Monster Movies, Science Fiction, Ray Harryhausen Films, Music, and more.

Here is a little bio about each of us...

Paul J. McConnochie

Proprietor : Vortex42Studios

Role : Producer / Director / Animator

Credits : The Loft (2006) / A Darkening Sky (2007)

Paul was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His Father was a professional portrait Photographer, and his Mother was a Photography Enthusiast. The first film he was involved in making was at age 10, when his School class created an animation based on the Indian Myth of Ramayana. He never looked back. Having studied Music Technology, Animation & Computing between 1996-2002, Paul started his own media production company called "Vortex42" in September 2003.

Since then, he has worked on a wide range of projects including websites, corporate promos, computer games and providing special effects for short films and recently a hollywood feature film called Sinbad : The Fifth Voyage. In the past six years, Paul has produced several short films, including The Loft (2006), and A Darkening Sky (2007). He has a couple of other films nearing completion, but they have been placed on hold while he was tackling a major undertaking...

His unerring goal has been to build his own film and effects studios, so that he would have the resources to put larger scale projects into action. Paul has been working tirelessly since he started Vortex42, to reach that milestone. Seizing an opportunity, two years ago, Paul and his Wife, moved from Scotland to Denmark, and set about finding a suitable property in which to base the studios. A year ago, they bought a small farm, and for the past four months construction of the Studios has taken place. In a couple of weeks, the studios will be entirely complete and ready to use just in time to let ECHO be the first film made at vortex42studios... A new chapter is beginning!

The short film ECHO, is being created to mark that occasion.

 

Brett W. McCoy

Proprietor : Electric Minstrel Media

Role : Composer

Credits : Judder (2008) / Helping Hands (2011)

Brett W. McCoy is a composer and guitarist living and working in the suburbs of Washington, DC. He has been studying music since 1981, and spent several years in formal guitar lessons, with a focus on jazz and classical styles. Subsequent to that, Brett studied many different musical styles, including Medieval & Renaissance, Middle Eastern, jazz, blues, folk, progressive rock, heavy metal and orchestral/symphonic styles. He received a Master Certification in Orchestration for Film and TV from Berklee Music in 2011, studying, among others, under film composer Ben Newhouse, Emmy award winning pianist Brad Hatfield and jazz saxophonist Dan Moretti.

Brett is a co-founder of the DC Society of Art Rock, and Secretary of the Composers' Society of Montgomery County. He is also an ASCAP member. In 2006, he played lead guitar in Revel Moon, on their eponymous album. And, in 2009, released "Death Waits Dreaming" with Alhazred.

He has a wide range of experience and skills covering everything from Composition & Film Scoring, to Orchestrations, Arranging, Notation, Session Guitar, MIDI Sequencing and Recording, and Digital Audio Mixing.

Brett runs his studio, Electric Minstrel Media and from there has provided music for numerous short films and other projects. He's really looking forward to Composing the Score for ECHO.